Binding of cardiolipin to polystyrene beads: evidence for a lamellar phase orientation

Summary. The association of cardiolipin with polystyrene beads was studied using ³¹P-NMR and electron microscopy. In the presence and absence of fetal calf serum, cardiolipin appeared to bind to the polystyrene beads in lamellar phase as assessed by ³¹P-NMR imaging. Electron microscopic analysis revealed an even coating of phospholipid about the beads with extensive micelle binding. Cardiolipin-coated beads challenged with ACA-positive sera followed by immunogold indicated antibody bound to micelles associated with the bead. Studies conducted with ACA IgG purified from patient sera indicated that some ACA bound to CL beads in the absence of a source of ACA cofactor (i.e. gelatin-blocked beads), some ACA required β₂-GPI for binding (i.e. no binding in the presence of β₂-GPI-depleted plasma), whereas other ACA which showed negliglible binding with gelatin-blocked beads, showed enhanced binding in the presence of /?₂-GPI-depleted plasma. The data indicate that: (1) cardiolipin binds to polystyrene beads in lamellar phase, (2) ACA bind to phospholipid micelles bound directly to the polystyrene beads, and (3) ACA differ between individuals displaying varying phospholipid and phospholipid/cofactor substrate specificities.     

Phase I trial of the polyelectrolyte carbetimer administered i.v. once every four weeks

Summary Carbetimer, a new synthetic low molecular weight polyelectrolyte with a novel structure displayed antitumor activiy in a number of animal tumor model systems and in vitro investigations. Based on these findings it was brought to a phase I clinical trial in patients with advanced malignant disease after failure of conventional treatment or with no conventional treatment available. Forty-eight patients received 98 courses. The schedule was a one hour i.v. infusion every four weeks. The starting dose was 180 mg/m² and dose escalation was performed according to a modified Fibonacci formula up to 16,690 mg/m². At least three patients were treated at each dose level and each patient was eligible to receive repeat courses at the same dose, until progressive disease or dose-limiting toxicity intervened. No hematological toxicity was encountered. Some adverse effects such as reversible proteinuria, hypercalcaemia, pain at infusion site, nausea and vomiting and fatigue were seen partly in a dose-related manner but did not represent the maximum tolerated dose (MTD). The limiting toxicity at the highest dose level of 16,690 mg/m² consisted of ocular symptoms (light flashes) accompanied by a modest decrease of blood pressure and nausea or vomiting during a one hour infusion. 16,690 mg/m²/1 hour was considered the MTD. There were four deaths on study, all considered diseaserelated. Fourteen patients had stable disease for more than two courses, which, however, could also be explained by the natural course of disease. No clear-cut antitumor responses were noted in our study center.The recommended dose for phase II trials derived from our results is 12,550 mg/m²/2 hours. However, with regard to experiences in other phase I studies, the subsequent phase II studies will be performed with a dose of 6,500 mg/m².     

Cardiovascular effects of endothelin 1 in pithed spontaneously hypertensive rats: evaluation of its mechanism(s) of action

Summary The present experiments were carried out to investigate the cardiovascular effects of endothelin 1 (ET) in pithed spontaneously hypertensive (SH) rats and to evaluate its mechanism of action. The results show that ET (0.1 – 3 nmol/kg i.v.) is a powerful vasoconstrictor agent in the pithed rat. However, at a dose of 3 nmol/kg i.v. all the pithed animals died following a gradual decrease in mean arterial blood pressure and pulse pressure and changes in the form of the electrocardiogram (ECG). The predominant feature of the change in the ECG was a progressive decrease in the amplitude of the T wave resulting in a depression of the curve representing repolarization. Investigations in isolated perfused SH rat hearts showed that ET powerfully reduces coronary flow concentration-dependently (IC₅₀ 2.1 ±0.3 nM) an effect associated with sinus bradycardia and a decrease in coronary pressure amplitude. No overt ECG changes were seen. Control experiments with mechanical flow restriction suggest that bradycardia is a consequence of reduced coronary flow and that the ECG changes observed in vivo can be explained on the basis of coronary insufficiency and resulting myocardial hypoxia. Vasoconstrictor responses to angiotensin II (0.4 g/kg i.v.), phenylephrine (8 g/kg i.v.) and ET (0.5 nmol/kg i.v.) were antagonised by around 70% by isradipine (0.03 mg/kg i.a.). The results suggest that endothelin-induced vasoconstriction may involve receptor operated channel activation and opening of voltage sensitive Ca²⁺ channels.Send offprint requests to A. K. Mir at the above address     

甲状腺功能亢进患者骨代谢指标和甲状腺激素水平变化及其临床意义

为探讨甲状腺功能亢进(甲亢)患者骨代谢指标与甲状腺激素水平的变化, 本文对70例甲亢患者及60名健康对照者采用放射免疫分析法(RIA)测定了Ⅰ型胶原羧基末端肽(ICTP), 全自动微粒子化学发光分析法测定了骨碱性磷酸酶(BAP)及甲状腺激素(T3、T4、FT3、FT4)水平, 同时用二维骨密度仪测定骨密度(BMD).结果表明: 甲亢患者血清BAP、ICTP与甲状腺激素水平均明显高于健康对照组(P均小于0.01), 骨密度(BMD)则显著低于健康对照组(P＜0.01).相关分析显示, 甲亢患者血清BAP、ICTP水平与BMD呈明显负相关(r分别为-0.298和-0.276, P＜0.05), 与T3呈正相关(r分别为0.452和0.531,P＜0.01), 与T4亦呈正相关(r分别为0.419和0.398, P＜0.01).提示甲亢患者骨转换增强, 并以骨吸收增加更为显著, 与甲亢时甲状腺激素分泌过多有关. 定量检测血清BAP、ICTP水平对于甲亢代谢性骨病的诊断、病情研究均有重要的临床价值.     

Studies on mutants deficient in the photosystem I reaction centers in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Summary Genetic analysis of 25 nuclear mutants defective in the chlorophyll-protein complex CP1 was undertaken. The mutants belong to 13 complementation groups scattered throughout the nuclear genome. All these mutants lack the apoprotein of CP1 and, in addition, a specific set of six low molecular weight thylakoid polypeptides. System I particles obtained by treating WT thylakoid membranes with detergent specifically contain those polypeptides which the mutants lack. These observations suggest that a particular sub-structure of the thylakoid membrane associated with the photosystem I activity is missing from all 25 mutants studied, and that this general phenotype can result from mutation at any one of several unlinked Mendelian loci.     

Lactic dehydrogenase virus (LDV) impairs the antigen-presenting capacity of macrophages yet fails to affect their phagocytic activity

The effect of acute infection of mice with lactic dehydrogenase virus (LDV) on two major functions of peritoneal macrophages was tested. Using a macrophage-dependent T cell proliferative assay to test the antigen-presenting capacity of LDV-infected macrophages we found that LDV impairs the capacity of antigen-presenting cells to trigger memory T lymphocytes. Endocytosis of antigen by LDV-infected macrophages was similar to that of uninfected cells. In addition, the proportion of intracellular antigen versus membrane-bound antigen in LDV-infected cells were similar to that observed in uninfected mice. It appears therefore, that the impaired immunogenic effect of LDV-infected macrophages results from reduced immunogenicity of the membrane-bound antigen.Testing the phagocytic activity of peritoneal macrophages we found that the uptake of radiolabeled antibody-coated sheep erythrocytes or bacteria (E. coli) by infected cells was similar to that by uninfected macrophages. In addition, LDV failed to affect the ability of peritoneal macrophages in a nitroblue tetrazolium reduction reaction which serves as an alternative parameter for measuring phagocytic activity. Our results support the assumption that LDV, which probably propagates in the cells of the reticuloendothelial system, impairs some of the immunogenic functions of macrophages and thereby affects macrophage-dependent immune responses.     

Characterization of the antisecretory action of prostaglandin D2 in the rat colon

Previous studies have shown that prostaglandin D₂ (PGD₂) inhibits neuronally mediated secretion in the rat colon. This antisecretory action of PGD₂ was further characterized by the use of a prostaglandin D receptor blocker. Prostaglandin D₂ inhibited the neuronally mediated short-circuit current evoked by prostaglandin I₂, which represents Cl^- secretion. The concentration-response curve for the inhibition by PGD₂ was shifted to the right in the presence of the prostaglandin D receptor blocker, AH 6809. AH 6809 had no effect on the short-circuit current response induced by prostaglandin E₂ or iloprost, a stable prostaglandin I₂ analogue, suggesting an interaction of the blocker with receptors specific for PGD₂. A direct interaction of PGD₂ with enteric neurones was studied by determining its effect on acetylcholine release from enteric neurones preloaded with [³H]choline. Prostaglandin D₂ suppressed ³H release induced by electric field stimulation. It had, however, no effect on the release induced by depolarization with potassium. The results suggest that the inhibitory action of PGD₂ on enteric cholinergic neurones is mediated by prostaglandin D receptors.     

Rapid identification of female carriers of DMD/BMD by quantitative real-time PCR

Recently developed PCR systems offer online-monitoring of amplification and allow simple and reliable DNA quantification. We have used the LightCycler system to develop a simple and rapid method for direct identification of female carriers of deletions and duplications in the dystrophin gene. The challenge resides in the ability to identify the presence of a deleted or duplicated allele over the background contributed by the normal allele. Quantification is based on the determination of the ratio between potentially deleted/duplicated dystrophin exons and non-deleted/-duplicated reference exons using the unspecific dsDNA-dye SYBRgreen I. In a retrospective study, we evaluated our method in female relatives of DMD/BMD patients with known carrier status by comparative analysis of deleted or duplicated versus non-deleted/-duplicated exons. Carrier status was accurately attributed in 100% of cases, the mean ratios being 0.52+/-0.12 for deletion carriers (expected value: 0.5) and 1.56+/-0.18 for duplication carriers (expected value: 1.5) vs. 1.022+/-0.17 for non-carriers (expected value: 1.0). The method proved to be simple, rapid, reliable, and cost-effective. It may be used for direct determination of deletions/duplications in potential DMD/BMD carriers and may easily be adapted for other genetic conditions involving deletions and duplications.     

Iloprost对内皮细胞抗血栓功能的影响

以体外培养的猪主动脉内皮细胞（ＥＣ）为模型研究Ｉｌｏｐｏｓｔ对ＥＣ抗血栓功能的影响。用放免法、发色底物法测定培养液中６－酮－ＰＧＦ１α（６－ｋｅｔｏ－ＰＧＦ１α），血栓素Ｂ２（ＴＸＢ２）含量，纤溶酶原激活物（ＰＡ），纤溶酶原激活物抑制物（ＰＡＩ）活性及ＥＣ环磷酸腺苷（ｃＡＭＰ）含量。结果表明：Ｉｌｏｐｒｏｓｔ中以使ＥＣ生成６－ｋｅｔｏ－ＰＧＦ１α，ｃＡＭＰ含量显著增多，ＴＸＢ２含量显著减少，并使Ｐ     

Elongated peptides,not the predicted nonapeptide stimulate a major histocompatibility complex class I-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocyte clone with specificity for a bacterial heat shock protein

The peptides recognized by an H-2D^b-restricted CD8 cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) clone which is specific for the 60-kDa mycobacterial heat shock protein (hsp) and cross-reacts with stressed host cells were characterized. None of the nonapeptides from hsp60 conforming to the H-2D^b binding motif were able to sensitize target cells for lysis by this CTL clone. Sequence analysis of the stimulatory fraction from a trypsin digest of hsp60, together with synthetic peptide studies, defined a cluster of overlapping epitopes. Carboxy-terminal extension by at least one amino acid of the nonamer predicted to bind best to H-2D^b was essential for CTL recognition. Two such elongated peptides, a 10-mer and a 12-mer stimulated the clone at similarly low concentrations in the 100 pM range. We assume that these two peptides comply best with the natural epitope. In contrast, the 11-mer was inactive. The stimulatory 10-mer bound to H-2D^b with an efficacy similar to that of the nonapeptide corresponding to the H-2D^b motif, as revealed by peptide induced major histocompatibility complex (MHC) surface expression on RMA-S cells and competitive blocking of epitope recognition by the nonamer. Binding of these carboxy-terminally extended peptides to the MHC groove can be explained by anchoring through the amino acid residue Asn in position 5 of the peptide and by intrusion of the hydrophobic carboxy-terminal Ala (10-mer) or Leu (12-mer), but not Gly (11-mer), into the hydrophobic pocket of the H-2D^b cleft. Because the carboxy-terminal part is thus larger than predicted this region of the peptide may arch up from the binding groove. We assume that recognition of steric components of the MHC/peptide complex broaden the range of epitope specificity for a single T cell receptor. This flexibility not only promotes recognition of several overlapping peptides from a single antigen, but may also increase the chance of cross-reaction with similar peptides from unrelated proteins, including autoantigens. Consistent with this latter assumption, the T cell clone cross-recognizes mycobacterial hsp60 and stressed host cells.